1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a one-way valve for fluids. In particular, one intended application of the valve is for use with gas lighters.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional gas lighters the fuel which is generally stored in liquid form in a reservoir is generally selectively directed through a valve device in gaseous form, after which it arrives at a burner nozzle where it is ignited. The valve device generally consists of a hollow body of which one end has a bottom wall provided with an orifice to permit the passage of the gaseous fuel coming from the reservoir. The orifice can be selectively closed by a valve seal when the lighter is not in use.
The valve seal is generally provided at the base of the burner tube, which is equipped with a gasket in the form of a disc. The gasket is adapted to selectively close or open the orifice at will by the upward and downward movement of the nozzle and the burner tube. In fact, the burner tube, which normally includes a central channel which opens into at least one radial wall opening for the flow of the gas, is mounted in movable fashion within the body while it is normally biased toward the "valve closed" position by a resilient spring positioned beneath the finger operated lever of the lighter. The seal provided by a conventional valve of the type described generally depends essentially upon the characteristics of the gasket and the force of the resilient spring which is indirectly applied against the valve seat.
In general, since the seal is normally provided by engagement of the gasket with the valve seat over a single peripheral contact portion, sealing of the opening can be further enhanced by providing a plurality of contact portions to seal the opening. The present invention relates to a valve device for selectively passing fluids therethrough and which provides multiple sealing contact locations. One application of the valve device is for use with a gas lighter.